Staff Profile: The Man Behind the Curtain at the Medical Center

September 7, 2017 (TELLURIDE, CO) — Although there are no overnight beds at the Telluride Regional Medical Center, there are nights when one person never leaves.

Since 2002, Eric Adolphi has served the local medical center as the singular IT & Facilities Director; a job that requires a certain amount of midnight oil, dedication and grit to keep the the technology at the heart of the clinic’s efforts beating.

For nearly forty years, the medical center has occupied a 10,000-square-foot facility, built in the 1960s, on the corner of Townsend Ave. and Pacific St. In order to serve patient growth and the ever-changing healthcare technologies, the building itself requires a custodian willing to be intimate.

Adolphi is that person.

If there’s a system vital to keeping the medical center open, it’s on Adolphi’s radar.

“From the antennas clear down to the soil; every computer; some of the medical technology; drinking fountains; electrical; drains; cabinets; the servers; building security; email systems,” said Adolphi. “If it’s under this roof, but not a patient, I’ll get the call to fix it.”

It’s a big job. Adolphi is on call, every day of the year and has been for fourteen years. When he does manage to get away with his wife and two young sons, he brings a satellite phone with him.

His qualifications for the role are a combination of on-the-job experience and the “ability to geek out on things,” according to Adolphi.

“I grew up around inventors, photographers and builders, and because of those influencers, I am driven myself to build, invent and figure out how things work,” said Adolphi.

“There’s a lot riding on Eric, a lot of his brainpower is required in thinking of the future of the medical center and the technology we use to run a modern facility that is both safe for patients, and safe from an IT perspective” said John Gardner, the medical center’s CEO.

Naturally Adolphi also relies heavily on strong relationships with local subcontractors, ”If not for those people, I could not do what I do.”

Adolphi’s first role within with the medical center was as a Medical Assistant/EMT. He maintained the lab and worked in triage, and at one point during the transition to his current position, he was maintaining both posts.

“This place is part of my soul and I’m honored that this is where I get to plug into our community,” said Adolphi.

“If the building floods, or burns down, or something happens to the data center, within a few days, thanks to the disaster recovery system Eric created, we would be back up and running having lost almost no data whatsoever,” said Gardner.